Chilean cult members surrender

SANTIAGO – Three members of an alleged cult accused of sacrificing a baby to save the world ahead of December’s supposed Mayan apocalypse surrendered Saturday, Chilean police said.

Police Sunday were still hunting for the alleged leader of the cult, who is believed to have fled to Peru, after the baby’s mother and three other suspects were arrested Friday.

The search for the members of the cult, believed to number about 10, followed a four-month investigation after police were notified of the disappearance of a newborn that was never properly registered with authorities.

Police said alleged sect leader and the baby’s father, 36-year-old Gustavo Castillo Gaete, repeatedly slept with the five women in the group, whose members consumed ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic Andean brew. When Castillo learned that one of the women was pregnant, he locked her up during her pregnancy. When the baby was born, he asked to use it in a ritual supposedly destined to save the world ahead of the Dec. 21 “Mayan apocalypse,” police said.